Oakland Museum marks key events in SF Bay Area with exhibitions

OAKLAND, California—The Oakland Museum of California (Omca) presents four standout exhibitions celebrating the “Year of the Bay,” which marks a number of major milestones for the San Francisco Bay, including the opening of the new span of the Bay Bridge, the America’s Cup, the installation of The Bay Lights and the 150th anniversary of the Port of San Francisco.

“Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay,” opening August 31 marks the first major museum exhibition focused on the Bay, and the mysterious, unexpected, and amazing stories of people and natural forces shaping its landscape over 6,000 years. The exhibition anchors an interdisciplinary investigation of this iconic California topic through exhibitions that touch every facet of the Museum.

Omca’s Bay-related presentations extend into the Gallery of California Art with Peter Stackpole:
Bridging the Bay (through January 26, 2014), an exhibition of Stackpole’s bridge photographs from Omca’s collection; Bay Motion: Capturing San Francisco Bay on Film (November 9, 2013-June 29, 2014) featuring rare, ephemeral film from the legendary Prelinger Archives; and A Cinematic Study of Fog in San Francisco (November 9, 2013-June 29, 2014), a video project by acclaimed filmmaker Sam Green and cinematographer Andy Black. In the ‘Year of the Bay’ exhibitions, OMCA celebrates a uniquely Californian subject—the San Francisco Bay—with a multidisciplinary approach to storytelling, connecting California’s heritage to its future.

A full schedule of “Year of the Bay” programs brings opportunities for Museum visitors to engage with, talk about and imagine the future of our Bay. Hands-on bridge building workshops during Friday Nights@Omca and on weekends connect families to the Bay theme through fun and educational activities. There’s something for everyone, from Geek Out! a series of dynamic, topical lectures on everything from infrastructure projects to sea level rise, to Curator Tours of the exhibitions, to the first-ever presentation of Lost Landscapes of Oakland, an interactive film event.

For more about OMCA’s ‘Year of the Bay’ programming, visit museumca.org. Add to the conversation by tweeting @oaklandmuseumca, #yearofthebay.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS FOR ‘YEAR OF THE BAY’ EXHIBITIONS

Opening Weekend | Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay
Sneak Peek during Friday Nights @ OMCA: Friday, August 30, 7-9 pm
Exhibition Open: Saturday, August 31, 11 am-5 pm
Free First Sundays: Sunday, September 1, 11 am-5 pm
Celebrate the opening of the special exhibition Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay with a weekend at OMCA! Members kick it off with an exclusive preview before a public sneak peek during Friday Nights @ OMCA on August 30, featuring a pirates-and-mermaid theme, with songs from the sea and musical chairs. On Saturday, August 31, the exhibition officially opens to the public, and Free First Sunday on September 1 promises fun for all. Full details are available at museumca.org. Free First Sundays are made possible in part by Wells Fargo.

OMCA In-the-Headlines during Friday Nights @ OMCA
September-February, Second & Fourth Fridays, 6:30-7:30 pm
Join this new in-gallery discussion series in the exhibition Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay with members of the exhibition team and special guests. Share your ideas for the Bay’s future, and explore the most relevant topics in the news, from sea level rise to bridge construction, industrial development to restoration.

OMCA Family: Drop-in Bridge Building Workshops
Sunday, September 8, 2013, 12-3 pm
Sunday, September 22, 2013, 12-3 pm
Friday Nights @ OMCA in September, 5-8 pm
How do bridges work? How much weight they can carry? Bridge building can be as simple as joining a few gumdrops and toothpicks together. Visit the exhibitions Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay and Peter Stackpole: Bridging the Bay, then join the OMCA Family hands-on workshop to build your own bridge. All ages are invited to join in. Made possible in part by generous support from Chevron and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

California Futures Lecture Series: Geek Out!
Saturday, September 28, 2013, 2-3:30 pm
Saturday, November 16, 2013, 2-3:30 pm
Saturday, February 1, 2014, 2-3:30 pm
Come “geek out” at OMCA with special guest lecturers, ranging from authors, filmmakers, and artists, to exhibition partner organizations, scholars, and scientists. Go on a deeper exploration of issues presented in Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay. This series includes pre- and post-lecture programming such as music performances and book signings. Each lecture features a different theme, from Architecture and Infrastructure to Below the Surface and The Edge of the Bay. Guest speakers and program will be announced on museumca.org.

OMCA Family | Drop-in Lego Design Workshop
Sunday, December 8, 2013, 12-3 pm
Drop-in for a discovery-filled hands-on engineering and design workshop with Play-Well TEKnologies, where you’ll use Lego kits and your imagination to create amazing structures, inspired by the exhibition Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay. Afterwards, join the Family Gallery Tour in the exhibition, and learn about the human engineering and natural forces that have shaped the San Francisco Bay over the last 6,000 years. All ages are invited to join in. Made possible in part by generous support from Chevron and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Curator Tour | Peter Stackpole: Bridging the Bay
Saturday, December 14, 2013, 3-4 pm
Join Curator of Photography & Visual Culture Drew Johnson in the Gallery of California Art to learn about Stackpole’s unique connection to the Oakland Museum of California and how his work with a 35 mm camera presented a major shift in documentary photography.

Film | Lost Landscapes of Oakland
Saturday, February 22, 2014, 3-5 pm
On the closing weekend of Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay, join film archivist Rick Prelinger for the first ever East Bay-focused presentation in his lauded series of ‘Lost Landscapes’ screenings: a montage of rediscovered and rarely-seen film clips showing life, landscapes, labor, and leisure in the Oakland of yore, captured by amateurs, newsreel cameramen, and industrial filmmakers. Prelinger, the founder of the legendary Prelinger Archives and guest curator for the exhibition Bay Motion: Capturing San Francisco Bay on Film, has become known for annual ‘Lost Landscapes’ screenings that have happened in San Francisco and Detroit. This program combines eclectic content with vibrant discussion and audience participation.

OMCA’S ‘YEAR OF THE BAY’ EXHIBITIONS

CALIFORNIA PHOTOGRAPHY
Peter Stackpole: Bridging the Bay
July 20, 2013-January 26, 2014
Featuring stunning black-and-white photographs chronicling the original San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge construction in the 1930s by American photographer Peter Stackpole, the exhibition Peter Stackpole: Bridging the Bay continues OMCA’s ongoing series exploring contemporary topics in California through photography. On view in the Gallery of California Art, the exhibition of 23 original gelatin silver prints from OMCA’s collection connects visitors back in time to the Bay Bridge’s first iteration and complements the Museum’s major exhibition on the San Francisco Bay.

Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay
August 31, 2013-February 23, 2014
Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay
unveils the quirky, dynamic stories of how people and nature together have shaped the San Francisco Bay Area over the last 6,000 years. The first major exhibition to be presented with all three of OMCA’s transformed galleries of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences open to the public, the exhibition highlights historic and contemporary place-based stories about the Bay, and engages viewers in discussions about the Bay’s future. Through an extensive use of objects and media featuring oral histories, community voices, and interactives, the exhibition explores how human and natural forces have come together over time to shape and reshape the land and water of the San Francisco Bay, and how the central topics of sea-level rise, wetlands restoration, invasive species, and climate change are determining the future of the Bay.

The exhibition is supported by the California Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Bay Area Toll Authority and the California Transportation Commission to complete the seismic safety project on the historic San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The exhibition and related oral histories, school curriculum, and on-line resources help satisfy mitigation obligations required to comply with state and federal environmental laws.

Bay Motion: Capturing San Francisco Bay on Film
November 9, 2013-June 29, 2014
This unique selection of film from the Prelinger Archives-a collection of over 60,000 “ephemeral” (advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur) films-examines how the San Francisco Bay and the surrounding region have been captured on film by amateur, professional, and industrial camera people. Bay Motion: Capturing the San Francisco Bay on Film complements the major exhibition Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay, which explores how the San Francisco Bay has been shaped by humans and natural forces over time. On view in the Gallery of California Art, Bay Motion is an immersive, multiple-screen video installation that offers a rich, wondrous, and often surprising body of archival moving images, many never before seen by the public. This romp through informal film history provides viewers with a kaleidoscopic and entertaining story of the Bay and its people from the beginning of cinema through the 1970s.

A Cinematic Study of Fog in San Francisco
November 9, 2013-June 29, 2014
Acclaimed filmmaker Sam Green and cinematographer Andy Black present a video work in OMCA’s Gallery of California Art based on their ongoing investigation of fog-a remarkable weather phenomenon that profoundly characterizes the San Francisco Bay. Known for their work together on the Academy Award-nominated film The Weather Underground and other pioneering, experimental documentary features, Green and Black showcase a visually compelling experience of fog and the rich feelings it evokes.  At once sublime, quirky, and deeply existential, A Cinematic Study of Fog in San Francisco heightens our awareness of our environment and highlights how the complex systems of wind, air, and water around us engage the life of our minds and stir emotions.

A Cinematic Study of Fog in San Francisco is presented in partnership with the Exploratorium’s Bay Observatory and Cinema Arts Program.

ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) brings together collections of art, history and natural science under one roof to tell the extraordinary stories of California and its people. OMCA’s groundbreaking exhibits tell the many stories that comprise California with many voices, often drawing on first-person accounts by people who have shaped California’s cultural heritage. Visitors are invited to actively participate in the Museum as they learn about the natural, artistic and social forces that affect the state and investigate their own role in both its history and its future. With more than 1.8 million objects, OMCA is a leading cultural institution of the Bay Area and a resource for the research and understanding of California’s dynamic cultural and environmental heritage.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHTS @ OMCA

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) presents Friday Nights @ OMCA, a regular evening series every Friday from 5 to 9 pm, in partnership with Off the Grid: Lake Merritt @ OMCA-the first major food truck market in the East Bay. Friday Nights @ OMCA features extended Museum hours, in-gallery programming, a beer garden from Blue Oak café, live music, dancing, hands-on family activities, and more. Gallery admission is half-off for adults, free for ages $18 and under. Event parking in the Museum garage is $5. Friday Nights @ OMCAis presented in partnership with Off the Grid: Lake Merritt @ OMCA. Media sponsor: East Bay Express. Friday Nights @ OMCA art programs are made possible by generous support from the Walter and Elise Haas Fund.

VISITOR INFORMATION

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is at 1000 Oak Street, at 10th Street, in Oakland. OMCA is situated between downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt. Museum admission is $12 general; $9 seniors and students with valid ID, $6 youth ages 9 to 17, and free for Members and children 8 and under. During Friday Nights @ OMCA, admission after 5 pm is half-off for adults, and free for ages 18 and under. OMCA offers onsite underground parking and is conveniently located one block from the Lake Merritt BART station, on the corner of 10th Street and Oak Street. The accessibility ramp is located at the 1000 Oak Street main entrance. For more information, visit museumca.org.